Mari Sandoz Conference and Pilster Great Plains Lecture set for Sept. 25-26

The annual Pilster Great Plains Lecture will be Sept. 25, in the CSC Student Center at 7:30 p.m. This year’s presenter will be Margaret Coel, The New York Times best-selling author of the acclaimed Wind River mystery series. The lecture is free to the public with a reception and book signing afterward.

The lecture series, which brings speakers of national renown to CSC, is made possible by an endowment which began with Esther Pilster’s gift of ranchland in Dawes County in honor of her late husband, Raleigh. Esther, a teacher and school administrator for 44 years, lived in Omaha until her death at age 97 in July.

During the conference Sept. 26, CSC assistant professor of history and Sandoz Heritage Society Board member Dr. Kurt Kinbacher will discuss "Mari Sandoz and the Mysterious Case of the Sappa Creek Cheyenne Massacre of 1875."

CSC faculty members Dr. Matt Evertson, Dr. Kathy Bahr and Sandoz Center director Sarah Polak are also involved in the conference.

The event is intended to perpetuate and foster an understanding of the works of Mari Sandoz and to honor the land and the people about which she wrote.

Information about the conference schedule, registration and speakers is available online at marisandoz.org/events_activities/2014conference/.